2. mountains of Israel—that is, of
Palestine in general. The mountains are addressed by
personification; implying that the Israelites themselves are incurable
and unworthy of any more appeals; so the prophet sent to Jeroboam did
not deign to address the king, but addressed the altar (1Ki 13:2). The mountains are specified as being
the scene of Jewish idolatries on "the high places" (Eze 6:3; Le
26:30).

3. rivers—literally, the "channels" of
torrents. Rivers were often the scene and objects of idolatrous
worship.

cast your slain men before your
idols—The foolish objects of their trust in the day of evil
should witness their ruin.

5. carcasses … before …
idols—polluting thus with the dead bones of you, the
worshippers, the idols which seemed to you so sacrosanct.

6. your works—not gods, as you supposed,
but the mere work of men's hands (Isa 40:18-20).

7. ye shall know that I am the Lord—and
not your idols, lords. Ye shall know Me as the all-powerful Punisher of
sin.

8. Mitigation of the extreme severity of their
punishment; still their life shall be a wretched one, and linked with
exile (Eze 5:2, 12; 12:16; 14:22; Jer
44:28).

9. they that escape of you shall remember
me—The object of God's chastisements shall at last be
effected by working in them true contrition. This partially took place
in the complete eradication of idolatry from the Jews ever since the
Babylonian captivity. But they have yet to repent of their crowning
sin, the crucifixion of Messiah; their full repentance is therefore
future, after the ordeal of trials for many centuries, ending with that
foretold in Zec 10:9; 13:8, 9; 14:1-4, 11. "They shall remember me in
far countries" (Eze 7:16; De 30:1-8).

I am broken with their whorish
heart—Fairbairn translates,
actively, "I will break" their whorish heart; English Version is
better. In their exile they shall remember how long I bore with them,
but was at last compelled to punish, after I was "broken" (My
long-suffering wearied out) by their desperate (Nu 15:39) spiritual whorishness [Calvin], (Ps 78:40; Isa 7:13; 43:24;
63:10).

11. Gesticulations vividly setting before the
hearers the greatness of the calamity about to be inflicted. In
indignation at the abominations of Israel extend thine hand towards
Judea, as if about to "strike," and "stamp," shaking off the dust with
thy foot, in token of how God shall "stretch out His hand upon them,"
and tread them down (Eze 6:14; Eze 21:14).

12. He that is far off—namely, from the
foe; those who in a distant exile fear no evil.

he that remaineth—he that is
left in the city; not carried away into captivity, nor having
escaped into the country. Distinct from "he that is near," namely,
those outside the city who are within reach of "the sword" of the foe,
and so fall by it; not by "famine," as those left in the city.

14. Diblath—another form of Diblathaim,
a city in Moab (Nu 33:46; Jer 48:22), near which, east and south of the Dead
Sea, was the wilderness of Arabia-Deserta.